Evaluation of Speaker Normalization Methods for Vowel Recognition Using Fuzzy ARTMAP and K-NN

A procedure that uses fuzzy ARTMAP and K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN) categorizers to evaluate intrinsic and extrinsic speaker normalization methods is described. Each classifier is trained on preprocessed, or normalized, vowel tokens from about 30% of the speakers of the Peterson-Barney database, then tested on data from the remaining speakers. Intrinsic normalization methods included one nonscaled, four psychophysical scales (bark, bark with end-correction, mel, ERB), and three log scales, each tested on four different combinations of the fundamental (Fo) and the formants (F1 , F2, F3). For each scale and frequency combination, four extrinsic speaker adaptation schemes were tested: centroid subtraction across all frequencies (CS), centroid subtraction for each frequency (CSi), linear scale (LS), and linear transformation (LT). A total of 32 intrinsic and 128 extrinsic methods were thus compared. Fuzzy ARTMAP and K-NN showed similar trends, with K-NN performing somewhat better and fuzzy ARTMAP requiring about 1/10 as much memory. The optimal intrinsic normalization method was bark scale, or bark with end-correction, using the differences between all frequencies (Diff All). The order of performance for the extrinsic methods was LT, CSi, LS, and CS, with fuzzy AHTMAP performing best using bark scale with Diff All; and K-NN choosing psychophysical measures for all except CSi.British Petroleum (89-A-1204); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (AFOSR-90-0083, ONR-N00014-92-J-4015); National Science Foundation (IRI-90-00530); Office of Naval Research (N00014-91-J-4100); Air Force Office of Scientific Research (F49620-92-J-0225

Speaker Normalization Methods for Vowel Cognition: Comparative Analysis Using Neural Network and Nearest Neighbor Classifiers

Intrinsic and extrinsic speaker normalization methods are systematically compared using a neural network (fuzzy ARTMAP) and L1 and L2 K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN) categorizers trained and tested on disjoint sets of speakers of the Peterson-Barney vowel database. Intrinsic methods include one nonscaled, four psychophysical scales (bark, bark with endcorrection, mel, ERB), and three log scales, each tested on four combinations of F0 , F1, F2, F3. Extrinsic methods include four speaker adaptation schemes, each combined with the 32 intrinsic methods: centroid subtraction across all frequencies (CS), centroid subtraction for each frequency (CSi), linear scale (LS), and linear transformation (LT). ARTMAP and KNN show similar trends, with K-NN performing better, but requiring about ten times as much memory. The optimal intrinsic normalization method is bark scale, or bark with endcorrection, using the differences between all frequencies (Diff All). The order of performance for the extrinsic methods is LT, CSi, LS, and CS, with fuzzy ARTMAP performing best using bark scale with Diff All; and K-NN choosing psychophysical measures for all except CSi.British Petroleum (89-A-1204); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (AFOSR-90-0083, ONR-N00014-92-J-4015); National Science Foundation (IRI-90-00530); Office of Naval Research (N00014-91-J-4100); Air Force Office of Scientific Research (F49620-92-J-0225

Information from quantum blackhole physics

The study of BTZ blackhole physics and the cosmological horizon of 3D de Sitter spaces are carried out in unified way using the connections to the Chern Simons theory on three manifolds with boundary. The relations to CFT on the boundary is exploited to construct exact partition functions and obtain logarithmic corrections to Bekenstein formula in the asymptotic regime. Comments are made on the dS/CFT correspondence frising from these studies.Comment: 11 pages; 1 figure(eps file);Talk presented at the conference Space-time and Fundamental Interactions: Quantum Aspects'' in honour of A.P. Balachandran's 65th birthday, Vietri sul Mare, Salerno, Italy 26th-31st May, 200

Notes on Euclidean de Sitter space

We discuss issues relating to the topology of Euclidean de Sitter space. We show that in (2+1) dimensions, the Euclidean continuation of the`causal diamond', i.e the region of spacetime accessible to a timelike observer, is a three-hemisphere. However, when de Sitter entropy is computed in a `stretched horizon' picture, then we argue that the correct Euclidean topology is a solid torus. The solid torus shrinks and degenerates into a three-hemisphere as one goes from the `stretched horizon' to the horizon, giving the Euclidean continuation of the causal diamond. We finally comment on the generalisation of these results to higher dimensions.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX, reference adde

Knot Solitons

The existence of ring-like and knotted solitons in O(3) non-linear sigma model is analysed. The role of isotopy of knots/links in classifying such solitons is pointed out. Appearance of torus knot solitons is seen.Comment: Latex 9 pages + 2 eps figure

Games in Tholkappiyam and Aganaanooru

Tamil culture places a high value on grammar and literature. A sport thought of as a hobby  that  focuses on the civilization and culture of every people. From the sangam era to the present, the contribution of games has dominted grammar and literature. The greatest treasure that can never be destroyed is the world of games. Humans benefit greatly from sport in terms of agility and fun. The best medicine for the human body and for life is sports. Additionally, it is clamied to rejuvenate peoples life. They provide the body with the necessary energy, health, and sense of community. The game improves navigation and speaking skills for both kids and adults. As a result, every ones capacity for rational, in-depth thought improves.The lyrics allusions to the games played in Tholkappiaym and Aganaanooru are dispersed through Sout and arranged harmoniously. Tamil community values sport as a significant aspect

Some indications from instability results about the effectiveness of wall heating as a control option for channel flow

This paper is a review of some of our recent work on the effect of wall heating on the stability of laminar flow in a channel. The summary of our results, some of them unexpected, is as follows. Viscosity stratification has very little effect on transient growth, whereas it results in linear mode stabilising or destabilising by an order of magnitude. It has hitherto been accepted that heat diffusivity does not affect stability. This is however true only for linear instability, transient growth is affected by an order of magnitude. Unusually, the growth is spanwise-independent and not in the form of streamwise vortices. It is also shown that flow is destabilised by secondary modes as the viscosity ratio increases. However, the viscosity ratio has no role in the selection of the pattern of ∧ vortices